Gynecologic oncology
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Gynecologic oncology · Oct 2008
Randomized Controlled TrialA randomized study of the effectiveness of a brief psychosocial intervention for women attending a gynecologic cancer clinic.
While there are many psychosocial interventions for cancer patients, few are brief in nature. The aim of this study was to investigate the usefulness of a single-visit psychosocial intervention for gynecologic cancer patients. ⋯ The results of this study show that there was a positive effect towards coping and quality of life for a one-time psychosocial intervention after the first visit to a gynecologic oncology practice. Women who were randomized to the intervention but did not go were more distressed at baseline than the women who did go. This suggests that incorporating psychosocial services as an integrated part of the new patient consultation may be very important to address patient's distress. Future studies with larger sample sizes may reveal more significant differences. Strategies to overcome the poor utilization of the cancer resource center are also clearly needed to improve awareness of these resources.
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Gynecologic oncology · Oct 2008
Adjuvant radiation for early stage endometrial cancer with lymphovascular invasion.
To determine the impact of the decrease in use of postoperative pelvic external beam radiation (EBRT) in favor of intravaginal RT (IVRT) alone in patients with early stage endometrial cancer who had lymphovascular invasion (LVI). ⋯ These data suggest that the mere presence of LVI need not trigger the use of pelvic EBRT. Instead, the decision on whether to omit EBRT in patients with LVI should be made in the context of a patient's competing risk factors and comorbid conditions.